A Friendly Coverup
by turn2stone
Summary: OR how Merlin just made their job much harder!
**Our current collaboration is working well. I'm the brains with all the marvelous ideas and LC is the brawn- she pounds on her keyboard to churn out fantastic tales. GO TEAM!**

It all started when Arthur wanted to celebrate the anniversary of ten years that Merlin had been by his side. The idea was very thoughtful: which meant that it was Gwen's, not Arthur's. Merlin was touched about this whole gesture- spending time with his friends and everything. But the second Gwaine opened is big mouth, he regretted agreeing to it. They were going to the _tavern_. The place he hated the most, and the place where he _supposedly_ spent all of his time. Damn Gaius for that stupid excuse!

As expected, his friends were there- and since the king was here too- the tavern was empty. Percival, Leon, Gwaine and Arthur had "reserved" the establishment. The four knights had dragged Merlin who had dragged Gaius to that dreadful place. No other clients would come tonight. Considering what happened next, Merlin would thank the Triple Goddess for that!

They were in the middle of a very heated conversation about Merlin's lack of experience regarding women. Merlin kept on trying to defend himself, but none of the knights believed him, and Gaius wasn't really helping with his grin hidden behind his drinks- how much ale did he have anyway? They all had had some drinks- meaning Merlin wasn't as much in control of his magic as he usually was. All of a sudden, after a particularly crude comment from Arthur stating that no one would ever want to kiss his servant. Merlin lost the remaining bits of his patience and said scathingly, "Well, if you _really_ want to know, why don't you can go and ask your **wife**!"

After that, things heated up even more. All of a sudden, Merlin's magic flared, and the bench next to them cracked. Well, when you say cracked; it means it broke in half- right in the middle.

Merlin was thinking fast to find an excuse when Gwaine said, "Oh, I can't believe this bench is still here. I remember few days back when I was here, and a fight broke out. It ended when I threw one of the guys onto this bench. Good thing no one else is here tonight! Could have hurt someone when it broke…"

Merlin raised an eyebrow in a perfect imitation of Gaius. What was happening? Did Gwaine really cover for his magic or was he more drunk than he had thought? Taking another sip with the most idiotic smile he could muster on his face, he summoned two bats. They came flying through the window and circled over their heads a few times. They then brushed over Gwaine's head and flew away.

Percival stood up, went to Gwaine and then started brushing at Gwaine's clothes, "I think you need to clean your clothes more often, _Sir_ Gwaine. It would help with the smell, and you would stop attracting all the animals of the area."

Huh, who would have known? Percival _and_ Gwaine had figured out he was a sorcerer. Let's see if others knew…

Merlin, half laughing, made a glass float as Percival was returning to his seat. Leon stood up and grabbed it and hurriedly yelled, "I propose a toast! Hum… To … Merlin. Ten years taking care of Arthur, and … that's all. Cheers!"

Then it was Gwaine's plate that started to float; forcing Gwaine to join the toast using his plate instead of his glass, "It's the tradition in Carleon!" he explained. To that particularly stupid comment, Arthur replied with an even _more_ stupid one, "I'll have to remember that for next week. Queen Annis is visiting."

Merlin was stunned, how could Arthur actually believe that? What kind of person would use his plate for a toast? Besides, Gwaine had always used his glass for toasts… Arthur was not only blind but also stupid! Merlin decided to make things a bit harder for his friends. Being tipsy surely was a big help- it brought out his evil side!

The food in Percival's plate changed color. The meat turned blue. As Arthur was turning his head to speak with the knight, Percival put everything in his mouth claiming he was _that_ hungry and ordered some more from the tavern keeper. Gwaine's hair turned green and Leon ran to put a scarf around the knight's head, "I saw you shiver. You are cold, right?" he said out loud and he added under his breath "Keep it on, please. Your hair are… well green."

Gwaine, a bit shocked looked at Merlin and then answered, "Yes… yes! Thank you Leon."

Things were getting weirder and weirder by the minute. When Merlin made flowers appear, Leon said it was his gift for Merlin. Percival claimed to have captured butterflies for Merlin when they appeared right in front of them. He frantically proclaimed Merlin's love for the winged creatures. How could Arthur _believe_ **that**? Every one knew, but that _clotpole_ couldn't see what was right under his nose! Besides, everyone had come empty handed. Gaius was sleeping on his chair, and hadn't seen anything that Merlin had done; otherwise Merlin would have been as good as dead. Angrier than ever, Merlin stood up, walked to the door.

Unfortunately for Arthur, he tried to stop his servant when he reached the door. "Oh come on Merlin. Don't be such a girl… Stay with us!" He was drunk!

Actually they both were. That's why throwing all caution to the wind he did what he did next. His hand on the handle, he turned to his friends and said, "Explain **that**!"

The next second Arthur's clothes had disappeared and so had Merlin.


End file.
